The Three Steles of Seth

Translated by James R. Robinson

The revelation of Dositheos about the three steles of Seth, the Father of the living and
unshakable race, which he (Dositheos) saw and understood. And after he had read them, he
remembered them. And he gave them to the elect, just as they were inscribed there. Many
times I joined in giving glory with the powers, and I became worthy of the immeasurable
majesties. Now they (the steles) are as follows:

The First
Stele of Seth

I bless thee, Father Geradama(s), I, as thine (own) Son, Emmacha Seth, whom thou didst
beget without begetting, as a blessing of our God; for I am thine (own) Son. And thou art
my mind, O my Father. And I, I sowed and begot; but thou hast seen the majesties. Thou
hast stood imperishable. I bless thee, Father. Bless me, Father. It is because of thee
that I exist; it is because of God that thou dost exist. Because of thee I am with that
very one. Thou art light, since thou beholdest light. Thou hast revealed light. Thou art
Mirotheas; thou art my Mirotheos. I bless thee as God; I bless thy divinity. Great is the
good Self-begotten who stood, the God who had already stood. Thou didst come in goodness;
thou hast appeared, and thou hast revealed goodness. I shall utter thy name, for thou art
a first name. Thou art unbegotten. Thou hast appeared in order that thou mightest reveal
the eternal ones. Thou art he who is. Therefore thou hast revealed those who really are.
Thou art he who is uttered by a voice, but by mind art thou glorified, thou who hast
dominion everywhere. Therefore the perceptible world too knows thee because of thee and
thy seed. Thou art merciful.

And thou art from another race, and its place is over another race. And now thou art
from another race, and its place is over another race. Thou art from another race, for
thou art not similar. And thou art merciful, for thou art eternal. And thy place is over a
race, for thou hast caused all these to increase; and for the sake of my seed. For it is
thou who knows it, that its place is in begetting. But they are from other races, for they
are not similar. But their place is over other races, for their place is in life. Thou art
Mirotheos.

I bless his power which was given to me, who caused the malenesses that really are to
become male three times; he who was divided into the pentad, the one who was given to us
in triple power, the one who was begotten without begetting, the one who came from that
which is elect; because of what is humble, he went forth from the midst.

Thou art a Father through a Father, a word from a command. We bless thee, Thrice Male,
for thou didst unite all through them all, for thou hast empowered us. Thou hast arisen
from one; from one thou hast gone forth; thou hast come to one. Thou hast saved, thou hast
saved, thou hast saved us, O crown-bearer, crown-giver! We bless thee eternally. We bless
thee, once we have been saved, as the perfect individuals, perfect on account of thee,
those who became perfect with thee who is complete, who completes, the one perfect through
all these, who is similar everywhere.

Great is the first aeon, male virginal Barbelo, the first glory of the invisible
Father, she who is called "perfect".

Thou (fem.) hast seen first the one who truly pre-exists because he is non-being. And
from him and through him thou hast pre-existed eternally, the non-being from one
indivisible, triple power, thou a triple power, thou a great monad from a pure monad, thou
an elect monad, the first shadow of the holy Father, light from light.

We bless thee, producer (fem.) of perfection, aeon-giver (fem.). Thou hast seen the
eternal ones because they are from a shadow. And thou hast become numerable. And thou
didst find, thou didst continue being one (fem.); yet becoming numerable in division, thou
art three-fold. Thou art truly thrice, thou one (fem.) of the one (masc.). And thou art
from a shadow of him, thou a Hidden One, thou a world of understanding, knowing those of
the one, that they are from a shadow. And these are thine in the heart.

For their sake thou hast empowered the eternal ones in being; thou hast empowered
divinity in living; thou hast empowered knowledge in goodness; in blessedness thou hast
empowered the shadows which pour from the one. Thou hast empowered this (one) in
knowledge; thou hast empowered another one in creation. Thou hast empowered him who is
equal and him who is not equal, him who is similar and him who is not similar. Thou hast
empowered in begetting, and (provided) forms in that which exists to others. [...] Thou
hast empowered these. - He is that One Hidden in the heart. - And thou hast come forth to
these and from these . Thou art divided among them. And thou dost become a great male
noetic First-Appearer.

Fatherly God, divine child, begetter of multiplicity according to a division of all who
really are, thou (masc.) hast appeared to them all in a word. And thou (masc.) dost
possess them all without begetting and eternally indestructible on account of thee (fem.).

Salvation has come to us; from thee is salvation. Thou art wisdom, thou knowledge; thou
art truthfulness. On account of thee is life; from thee is life. On account of thee is
mind; from thee is mind. Thou art mind, thou a world of truthfulness, thou a triple power,
thou threefold. Truly thou art thrice, the aeon of aeons. It is thou only who sees purely
the first eternal ones and the unbegotten ones.

But the first divisions are as thou wast divided. Unite us as thou has been united.
Teach us those things which thou dost see. Empower us that we may be saved to eternal
life. For we are each a shadow of thee as thou art a shadow of that first pre-existent
one. Hear us first. We are eternal ones. Hear us as the perfect individuals. Thou art the
aeon of aeons, the all-perfect one who is established.

We rejoice! We rejoice! We rejoice!
We have seen! We have seen! We have seen the really pre-existent one, that he really
exists, that he is the first eternal one.
O Unconceived, from thee are the eternal ones and the aeons, the all-perfect ones who are
established, and the perfect individuals.

We bless thee, non-being, existence which is before existences, first being which is
before beings, Father of divinity and life, creator of mind, giver of good, giver of
blessedness!

We all bless thee, knower, in a glorifying blessing, (thou) because of whom [all these
are. ... really, ...], who knows thee, through thee alone. For there is no one who is
active before thee. Thou art an only and living spirit. And thou knowest one, for this one
who belongs to thee is on every side. We are not able to express him. For thy light shines
upon us.

Present a command to us to see thee, so that we may be saved. Knowledge of thee, it is
the salvation of us all. Present a command! When thou dost command, we have been saved!
Truly we have been saved! We have seen thee by mind! Thou art them all, for thou dost save
them all, he who was not saved, nor was he saved through them. For thou, thou hast
commanded us.

Thou art one. Thou art one, just as there is one (who) will say to thee: Thou art one,
thou art a single living spirit. How shall we give thee a name? We do not have it, For
thou art the existence of them all. Thou art the life of them all. Thou art the mind of
them all. For thou art he in whom they all rejoice.

Thou hast commanded all these to be saved through thy word [...] glory who is before
him, Hidden One, blessed Senaon, he who begat himself, Asineu(s), [...]ephneu(s), Optaon,
Elemaon the great power, Emouniar, Nibareu(s), Kandephor(os), Aphredon, Deiphaneus, thou
who art Armedon to me, power-begetter, Thalanatheu(s), Antitheus, thou who existeth within
thyself, thou who art before thyself - and after thee no one entered into activity.

As what shall we bless thee? We are not empowered. But we give thanks, as being humble
toward thee. For thou hast commanded us, as he who is elect, to glorify thee to the extent
we are able. We bless thee because we were saved. Always we glorify thee. For this reason
we shall glorify thee, that we may be saved to eternal salvation. We have blessed thee,
for we are empowered. We have been saved, for thou hast willed always, that we all do
this.

We all did this. [...] not through [... aeon ...], the one who was [...], we and those
who [...]. He who will remember these and give glory always will become perfect among
those who are perfect and impassable beyond all things. For they all bless these
individually and together. And afterwards they shall be silent. And just as they were
ordained, they ascend. After the silence, they descend from the third. They bless the
second; after these the first. The way of ascent is the way of descent.

Know therefore, as those who live, that you have attained. And you taught yourselves
the infinite things. Marvel at the truth which is within them, and (at) the revelation.

The Three Steles of Seth

This book belongs to the fatherhood.
It is the son who wrote it.
Bless me O Father. I bless
you, O Father, in peace.
Amen.